II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1550 

To improve the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to hire and 

retain physicians and other employees of the Department of Veterans 

Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 13, 2017 

Mr. STRANGE (for himself, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. COTTON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

to hire and retain physicians and other employees of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs Quality Employment Act 

6 of 2017’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Modification to annual determination of staffing shortages in Veterans 

Health Administration. 

Sec. 3. Establishment of Department of Veterans Affairs Executive Management Fellowship Program. 

Sec. 4. Accountability of leaders for managing the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 5. Reemployment of former employees at Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 6. Recruiting database at Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 7. Training for human resources professionals of Veterans Health Administration on recruitment and retention. 

Sec. 8. Promotional opportunities for technical experts at Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 9. Comptroller General of the United States assessment of succession planning at Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 10. Employment of students and recent graduates by Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 11. Exit surveys at Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 12. Encouragement of transition of military medical professionals into employment with Veterans Health Administration. 

Sec. 13. Plan to hire directors of medical centers of Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

Sec. 14. Recruitment of physicians in Department of Veterans Affairs. 

1 SEC. 2. MODIFICATION TO ANNUAL DETERMINATION OF 

2 STAFFING SHORTAGES IN VETERANS HEALTH 

3 ADMINISTRATION. 

4 Section 7412(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘the five occupations’’ and in7 serting ‘‘at a minimum, the five clinical occupations 

8 and the five nonclinical occupations’’; and 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘throughout the Department’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘with respect to each medical center of 

11 the Department,’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

2 AFFAIRS EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT FELLOW3 SHIP PROGRAM. 

4 (a) FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—Chapter 7 of title 38, 

5 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

6 following new subchapter: 

7 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT 

8 FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM 

9 ‘‘§ 741. Executive Management Fellowship Program 

10 ‘‘(a) FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—There is in the De11 partment an Executive Management Fellowship Program. 

12 The purpose of the program shall be to provide— 

13 ‘‘(1) eligible employees of the Veterans Benefits 

14 Administration and the Veterans Health Administra15 tion with training and experience in the private sec16 tor; and 

17 ‘‘(2) eligible employees of a private-sector entity 

18 with training and experience in the Department of 

19 Veterans Affairs. 

20 ‘‘(b) FELLOWSHIP.—(1) A fellowship provided under 

21 this section is a 1-year fellowship during which— 

22 ‘‘(A) with respect to a Department participant, 

23 the participant receives training and experience at a 

24 private-sector entity that is engaged in the adminis25 tration and delivery of health care or other services 


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1 similar to the benefits administered by the Sec2 retary; and 

3 ‘‘(B) with respect to a private-sector partici4 pant, the participant receives training and experi5 ence at the Veterans Benefits Administration or the 

6 Veterans Health Administration. 

7 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall enter into such agreements 

8 with private-sector entities as are necessary to carry out 

9 this section. 

10 ‘‘(c) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—(1) In August of 

11 each year, the Secretary shall select— 

12 ‘‘(A) not fewer than 18 and not more than 30 

13 eligible employees of the Veterans Benefits Adminis14 tration and the Veterans Health Administration to 

15 receive a fellowship under this section; and 

16 ‘‘(B) not fewer than 18 and not more than 30 

17 eligible employees of private-sector entities to receive 

18 a fellowship under this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall se20 lect eligible employees under subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

21 of paragraph (1) from among eligible employees who are 

22 veterans in a manner that is reflective of the demographics 

23 of the veteran population of the United States and that 

24 whenever practicable provides a preference to such em25 ployees who represent or service rural areas. 


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1 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES.—For the purposes of 

2 this section, an eligible employee is— 

3 ‘‘(1) with respect to an employee of the Vet4 erans Benefits Administration or the Veterans 

5 Health Administration, an employee who— 

6 ‘‘(A) is compensated at a rate of basic pay 

7 not less than the minimum rate of basic pay 

8 payable for grade GS–14 of the General Sched9 ule and not more than either the minimum rate 

10 of basic pay payable to a member of the Senior 

11 Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5 

12 or the minimum rate of basic pay payable pur13 suant to chapter 74 of this title, as the case 

14 may be; 

15 ‘‘(B) enters into an agreement with the 

16 Secretary under subsection (e); and 

17 ‘‘(C) submits to the Secretary an applica18 tion containing such information and assur19 ances as the Secretary may require; and 

20 ‘‘(2) with respect to an employee of a private21 sector entity, an employee who— 

22 ‘‘(A) is employed in a position whose du23 ties and responsibilities are commensurate with 

24 an employee of the Department described in 

25 paragraph (1); 


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1 ‘‘(B) enters into an agreement with the 

2 Secretary under subsection (e); and 

3 ‘‘(C) submits to the Secretary an applica4 tion containing such information and assur5 ances as the Secretary may require. 

6 ‘‘(e) AGREEMENTS.—(1) An agreement between the 

7 Secretary and a Department participant shall be in writ8 ing, shall be signed by the participant, and shall include 

9 the following provisions: 

10 ‘‘(A) The Secretary’s agreement to provide the 

11 participant with a fellowship under this section. 

12 ‘‘(B) The participant’s agreement— 

13 ‘‘(i) to accept the fellowship; 

14 ‘‘(ii) after completion of the fellowship, to 

15 serve as a full-time employee in the Veterans 

16 Benefits Administration or the Veterans Health 

17 Administration for at least 2 years as specified 

18 in the agreement; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) that, during the 2-year period begin20 ning on the last day of the fellowship, the par21 ticipant will not accept employment in the same 

22 industry as the industry of the private-sector 

23 entity at which the participant accepts the fel24 lowship. 


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1 ‘‘(C) A provision that any financial obligation of 

2 the United States arising out of an agreement en3 tered into under this subchapter, and any obligation 

4 of the participant which is conditioned on such 

5 agreement, is contingent upon funds being appro6 priated. 

7 ‘‘(D) A statement of the damages to which the 

8 United States is entitled under this subchapter for 

9 the participant’s breach of the agreement. 

10 ‘‘(E) Such other terms as the Secretary deter11 mines are required to be included in the agreement. 

12 ‘‘(2) An agreement between the Secretary and a pri13 vate-sector participant shall be in writing, shall be signed 

14 by the participant, and shall include the following provi15 sions: 

16 ‘‘(A) The Secretary’s agreement to provide the 

17 participant with a fellowship under this section. 

18 ‘‘(B) The participant’s agreement to accept the 

19 fellowship. 

20 ‘‘(C) Such other terms as the Secretary deter21 mines are required to be included in the agreement. 

22 ‘‘(f) TREATMENT OF RECIPIENTS.—(1) A Depart23 ment participant shall be considered an employee of the 

24 Department for all purposes, including for purposes of re25 ceiving a salary and benefits, and shall remain eligible for 


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1 all promotion and incentive programs otherwise available 

2 to such an employee. 

3 ‘‘(2) A private-sector participant shall be considered 

4 an employee of the private-sector entity that employs the 

5 participant for all purposes, including for purposes of re6 ceiving a salary and benefits, and during the fellowship 

7 shall be treated as a contractor of the Department. 

8 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.—(1) Not later than 60 days after 

9 completing a fellowship under this section, a recipient of 

10 the fellowship shall submit to the Secretary a report on 

11 the fellowship. 

12 ‘‘(2) Each such report shall describe the duties of the 

13 recipient during the fellowship and any recommendations 

14 of the recipient for the application by the Secretary of in15 dustry processes, technologies, and best practices. 

16 ‘‘(3) Not later than 7 days after receiving each such 

17 report, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 

18 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representa19 tives such report without change. 

20 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Department participant’ means 

22 an employee of the Veterans Benefits Administration 

23 or the Veterans Health Administration who is par24 ticipating in the fellowship under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘private-sector entity’ includes 

2 an entity operating under a public-private partner3 ship. 

4 ‘‘(3) The term ‘private-sector participant’ 

5 means an employee of a private-sector entity who is 

6 participating in the fellowship under this section.’’. 

7 (b) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 

8 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

9 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall implement the Ex10 ecutive Management Fellowship Program required under 

11 section 741 of title 38, United States Code, as added by 

12 subsection (a). 

13 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

14 at the beginning of chapter 7 of title 38, United States 

15 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

16 items: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

‘‘741. Executive Management Fellowship Program.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY OF LEADERS FOR MANAGING 

18 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 of title 

20 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after sec21 tion 717 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 719. Annual performance plan for political ap2 pointees 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct an 

4 annual performance plan for each political appointee of 

5 the Department that is similar to the annual performance 

6 plan conducted for an employee of the Department who 

7 is appointed as a career appointee (as that term is defined 

8 in section 3132(a) of title 5) within the Senior Executive 

9 Service at the Department. 

10 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS OF PLAN.—Each annual perform11 ance plan conducted under subsection (a) with respect to 

12 a political appointee of the Department shall include an 

13 assessment of whether the appointee is meeting the fol14 lowing goals: 

15 ‘‘(1) Recruiting, selecting, and retaining well16 qualified individuals for employment at the Depart17 ment. 

18 ‘‘(2) Engaging and motivating employees. 

19 ‘‘(3) Training and developing employees and 

20 preparing those employees for future leadership roles 

21 within the Department. 

22 ‘‘(4) Holding each employee of the Department 

23 that is a manager accountable for addressing issues 

24 relating to performance, in particular issues relating 

25 to the performance of employees that report to the 

26 manager. 


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1 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION OF POLITICAL APPOINTEE.—In 

2 this section, the term ‘political appointee’ means an em3 ployee of the Department who holds— 

4 ‘‘(1) a position which has been excepted from 

5 the competitive service by reason of its confidential, 

6 policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advo7 cating character; or 

8 ‘‘(2) a position in the Senior Executive Service 

9 as a noncareer appointee (as such term is defined in 

10 section 3132(a) of title 5).’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

12 at the beginning of chapter 7 of such title is amended by 

13 inserting after the item relating to section 717 the fol14 lowing new item: 

‘‘719. Annual performance plan for political appointees.’’. 

15 SEC. 5. REEMPLOYMENT OF FORMER EMPLOYEES AT DE16 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sections 3309 

18 through 3318 of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary 

19 of Veterans Affairs may noncompetitively appoint a quali20 fied former career or career conditional employee to any 

21 position within the competitive service at the Department 

22 of Veterans Affairs that is one grade or equivalent higher 

23 than the grade or equivalent of the position at the Depart24 ment most recently occupied by the employee. 


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1 (b) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not appoint a 

2 qualified former employee to a position that is more than 

3 one grade (or equivalent) higher than the position at the 

4 Department most recently occupied by the employee. 

5 (c) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED FORMER EM6 PLOYEE.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘quali7 fied former employee’’ means any individual who— 

8 (1) formerly occupied any career or career con9 ditional position at the Department of Veterans Af10 fairs within 2 years before applying for reemploy11 ment at the Department; 

12 (2) voluntarily left such position, or was subject 

13 to a reduction in force, and had a satisfactory per14 formance record while occupying such position; and 

15 (3) since leaving such position has maintained 

16 licensing requirements, related to the position, if 

17 any, and gained skill, knowledge, or other factors re18 lated to the position. 

19 SEC. 6. RECRUITING DATABASE AT DEPARTMENT OF VET20 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans 

22 Affairs shall establish a single database that lists— 

23 (1) each vacant position in the Department of 

24 Veterans Affairs that the Secretary determines is 


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1 critical to the mission of the Department, difficult to 

2 fill, or both; and 

3 (2) each vacant position in the Department of 

4 Veterans Affairs for a mental health professional. 

5 (b) QUALIFIED APPLICANT.—If the Secretary deter6 mines that an applicant for a vacant position listed in the 

7 database established under subsection (a) is qualified for 

8 such position but does not select the applicant for such 

9 position, the Secretary, at the election of the applicant, 

10 may consider the applicant for other similar vacant posi11 tions listed in the database for which the applicant is 

12 qualified. 

13 (c) PROLONGED VACANCIES.—If the Secretary does 

14 not fill a vacant position listed in the database established 

15 under subsection (a) after a period determined appro16 priate by the Secretary, the Secretary— 

17 (1) may ensure that applicants described in 

18 subsection (b) are considered for such position; and 

19 (2) may use the database established under 

20 subsection (a) to assist in filling such position. 

21 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

23 to Congress a report on the use and efficacy of the data24 base established under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 7. TRAINING FOR HUMAN RESOURCES PROFES2 SIONALS OF VETERANS HEALTH ADMINIS3 TRATION ON RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

5 shall provide to human resources professionals of the Vet6 erans Health Administration training on how to best re7 cruit and retain employees of the Veterans Health Admin8 istration, including with respect to any recruitment and 

9 retention matters that are unique to the Veterans Health 

10 Administration pursuant to chapter 74 of title 38, United 

11 States Code, or other provisions of law. 

12 (b) VIRTUAL TRAINING.—Training provided under 

13 this section shall be provided virtually. 

14 (c) AMOUNT OF TRAINING.—The Secretary shall en15 sure that each human resources professional of the Vet16 erans Health Administration receives the training de17 scribed in subsection (a)— 

18 (1) as soon as practicable after being hired by 

19 the Secretary as a human resources professional; 

20 and 

21 (2) annually thereafter. 

22 (d) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall require 

23 that each human resources professional of the Veterans 

24 Health Administration, upon the completion of the train25 ing described in subsection (a), certifies that the profesVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 22, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1550.IS S1550

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1 sional received the training and understands the informa2 tion provided by the training. 

3 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not less frequently than an4 nually, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

5 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet6 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

7 on the training described in subsection (a), including the 

8 cost of providing such training and the number of human 

9 resources professionals who received such training during 

10 the year covered by the report. 

11 SEC. 8. PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR TECHNICAL 

12 EXPERTS AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF13 FAIRS. 

14 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall estab16 lish a promotional track system for employees of the De17 partment of Veterans Affairs that the Secretary deter18 mines are technical experts pursuant to regulations pre19 scribed by the Secretary for purposes of carrying out this 

20 section. Such system shall— 

21 (1) provide any such employee the opportunity 

22 to advance within the Department without being re23 quired to transition to a management position; and 

24 (2) for purposes of achieving career advance25 ment— 


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1 (A) provide for the establishment of new 

2 positions within the Department; and 

3 (B) notwithstanding any other provision of 

4 law, provide for increases in pay for any such 

5 employee. 

6 SEC. 9. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES 

7 ASSESSMENT OF SUCCESSION PLANNING AT 

8 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

9 (a) ASSESSMENT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

11 the United States shall assess the extent to which 

12 key succession planning policies and guidance at the 

13 Department of Veterans Affairs, including the Vet14 erans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits 

15 Administration, and the National Cemetery Adminis16 tration, are consistent with leading practices for suc17 cession and workforce planning identified by Comp18 troller General. 

19 (2) ADDITIONAL MATTERS.—In carrying out 

20 the assessment required by paragraph (1), the 

21 Comptroller General may assess such other matters 

22 as the Comptroller General considers appropriate. 

23 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

25 submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the SenVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 22, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1550.IS S1550

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1 ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 

2 of Representatives a report on the assessment carried out 

3 under subsection (a). 

4 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON STUDY ON COMPLIANCE

5 WITH POLICIES AND GUIDANCE.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that— 

7 (1) the Comptroller General should conduct a 

8 study to examine the extent to which a sampling of 

9 installations of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

10 are complying with policies and guidance of the De11 partment, as well as applicable leading practices; 

12 and 

13 (2) the scope and timeframe of a study con14 ducted as described in paragraph (1) may be de15 pendent upon the findings of the Comptroller Gen16 eral with respect to the assessment carried out 

17 under subsection (a). 

18 SEC. 10. EMPLOYMENT OF STUDENTS AND RECENT GRAD19 UATES BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF20 FAIRS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

22 shall prescribe regulations to allow for excepted service ap23 pointments of students and recent graduates leading to 

24 conversion to career or career conditional employment of 


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1 a student or recent graduate of a qualifying educational 

2 institution, as defined by the Department. 

3 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The conversion authority de4 scribed in subsection (a) shall be applicable to individuals 

5 in good standing who— 

6 (1) are employed in a qualifying internship or 

7 fellowship program at the Department; 

8 (2) are employed in the Department in a volun9 teer capacity and performing substantive duties com10 parable to those of individuals in internship or fel11 lowship programs and meet the required number of 

12 hours for conversion; 

13 (3) are employed in the Department under a 

14 contract or agreement with an external nonprofit or15 ganization and performing substantive duties com16 parable to those of individuals in internship or fel17 lowship programs; 

18 (4) have received educational assistance under 

19 chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code; or 

20 (5) graduated from a qualifying educational in21 stitution, as defined by the Department, and have 

22 not reached 30 years of age. 

23 (c) UNIFORMITY.—For the purposes of paragraphs 

24 (2) and (3) of subsection (b), hours of work performed 

25 by an individual employed shall be considered equal to 


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1 those performed by an individual employed in a qualifying 

2 internship or fellowship program by the Department. 

3 SEC. 11. EXIT SURVEYS AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF4 FAIRS. 

5 (a) EXIT SURVEYS REQUIRED.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 

7 Affairs shall develop and carry out a standardized 

8 exit survey to be voluntarily completed by career and 

9 noncareer employees and executives of the Depart10 ment of Veterans Affairs who voluntarily separate 

11 from the Department. 

12 (2) CONSULTATION.—Such exit survey shall be 

13 developed in consultation with an appropriate non14 Department entity with experience developing such 

15 surveys. 

16 (b) SURVEY CONTENT.—The survey shall include, at 

17 a minimum, the following: 

18 (1) Reasons for leaving the Department. 

19 (2) Efforts made by the supervisor of the em20 ployee to retain the individual. 

21 (3) The extent of job satisfaction and engage22 ment during the employment. 

23 (4) The intent of employee to either remain em24 ployed within the Federal Government or to leave 

25 employment with the Federal Government. 


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1 (5) Such other matters as the Secretary deter2 mines appropriate. 

3 (c) ANONYMITY OF SURVEY CONTENT.—The Sec4 retary shall ensure that data collected under subsection 

5 (a)— 

6 (1) is anonymized, including through the use of 

7 a location that allows for privacy; 

8 (2) is not directly visible by another employee; 

9 and 

10 (3) does not require the departing employee to 

11 input any personally identifiable data. 

12 (d) SHARING OF SURVEY DATA.—The Secretary 

13 shall ensure that the results of the survey required by sub14 section (a) are— 

15 (1) aggregated at the Veterans Integrated Serv16 ice Network level; and 

17 (2) shared on an annual basis with directors 

18 and managers of facilities of the Department and 

19 the Veterans Integrated Service Networks. 

20 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act and not 

23 less frequently than once each year thereafter, the 

24 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Vet25 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 


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1 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a 

2 report containing the aggregate results of the exit 

3 survey under subsection (a) covering the year prior 

4 to the report. 

5 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

6 paragraph (1) shall include, for the period covered 

7 by the report, the following: 

8 (A) An analysis of the most common rea9 sons employees choose to leave the Department. 

10 (B) The steps the Secretary is taking to 

11 improve retention, particularly for mission-crit12 ical occupations. 

13 (C) The demographic characteristics of 

14 employees choosing to leave the Department. 

15 (D) Any legislative barriers to improving 

16 employee retention. 

17 (E) The total number of employees who 

18 voluntarily separated from the Department and 

19 the number and percentage of whom took the 

20 exit survey under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 12. ENCOURAGEMENT OF TRANSITION OF MILITARY 

2 MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS INTO EMPLOY3 MENT WITH VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRA4 TION. 

5 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a 

6 program to encourage an individual who serves in the 

7 Armed Forces with a military occupational specialty relat8 ing to the provision of health care to seek employment 

9 with the Veterans Health Administration when the indi10 vidual has been discharged or released from service in the 

11 Armed Forces or is contemplating separating from such 

12 service. 

13 SEC. 13. PLAN TO HIRE DIRECTORS OF MEDICAL CENTERS 

14 OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

15 (a) PLAN.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 

17 Affairs shall develop and implement a plan to hire highly 

18 qualified directors for each medical center of the Depart19 ment of Veterans Affairs that lacks a permanent director 

20 as of the date of the plan. 

21 (b) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize under 

22 the plan developed under subsection (a) the hiring of di23 rectors for medical centers that have not had a permanent 

24 director for the longest periods. 

25 (c) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The plan developed under 

26 subsection (a) shall include the following: 


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1 (1) A deadline to hire directors of medical cen2 ters of the Department as described in such sub3 section. 

4 (2) Identification of the possible impediments to 

5 such hiring. 

6 (3) Identification of opportunities to promote 

7 and train candidates from within the Department to 

8 senior executive positions in the Department, includ9 ing as directors of medical centers. 

10 (d) SUBMITTAL OF PLAN.—Not later than 120 days 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

12 shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

13 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

14 House of Representatives the plan developed under sub15 section (a). 

16 (e) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 180 

17 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not 

18 later than the end of each 180-day period thereafter until 

19 January 1, 2018, the Secretary shall submit to the Com20 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com21 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa22 tives a report containing a list of each medical center of 

23 the Department that lacks a permanent director as of the 

24 date of the report. 


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1 SEC. 14. RECRUITMENT OF PHYSICIANS IN DEPARTMENT 

2 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7402(b)(1) of title 38, 

4 United States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

6 by inserting ‘‘or to be offered a contingent appoint7 ment to such a position,’’ after ‘‘position,’’; and 

8 (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting 

9 the following new subparagraph (B): 

10 ‘‘(B)(i) have completed a residency program 

11 satisfactory to the Secretary, or 

12 ‘‘(ii) with respect to an offer for a contingent 

13 appointment upon the completion of a post-graduate 

14 training program, complete such a residency pro15 gram by not later than two years after the date of 

16 such offer, and’’. 

17 (b) OVERSIGHT OF GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION

18 PROGRAMS.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 

19 (1) ensure that a recruiter or other similar offi20 cial of each Veterans Integrated Service Network 

21 visits, not less frequently than annually, each 

22 allopathic and osteopathic teaching institution with a 

23 graduate medical education program within the Net24 work to recruit individuals to be appointed to posi25 tions in the Veterans Health Administration; and 


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1 (2) not less frequently than annually, submit to 

2 Congress a report on the implementation of para3 graph (1), including the success of recruitment ef4 forts under such paragraph. 

Æ 


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